Chapter 536: Chapter 409: A Brief Kiss (Part 2)
Screams overlapped, forming a wave of voices.
Their enthusiasm was directly conveyed to the stage.
Zhou Yun and Song Chi walked towards each other, singing a duet as they drew closer.
This simple stage design hit the audience’s sweet spot.
Standing backstage, ready for her next performance, Su Yan watched this scene on stage, hearing the boiling cheers and screams, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
Until Zhou Yun and Song Chi’s performance ended, the cheers from the audience showed no sign of subsiding.
The audience’s fervor was fully ignited, with no intention of diminishing.
At that moment, Su Yan felt an overwhelming sense of being unwanted by the audience.
They only wanted to see Zhou Yun and Song Chi; they were not looking forward to her appearance.
Su Yan stood in a corner of the backstage area, surrounded only by a few staff members.
She really wanted to walk away in a huff, to scrap the whole performance and let it all fall apart. In short, she didn’t want to go on stage again, to stand next to that pair and be just a backdrop.
But her rational mind held her ankles tightly; of course, she couldn’t just walk away.
Even if she did end up as a backdrop tonight, she had to be like a nail, firmly embedded on stage.
On stage, Song Chi held Zhou Yun’s hand tightly and said, "Did everyone watch ’Heart Inquiry’ that Xiao Yun and I starred in?"
The audience responded in unison: "We did!"
Song Chi asked, "Did everyone like it?"
Again, the audience in unison: "We did!"
Song Chi continued, "The next act is us singing the theme song of the drama together, and now, please welcome another leading lady of ’Heart Inquiry,’ Su Yan—"
The audience naturally cheered in support.
The reality was, Su Yan’s popularity and fan base in ’Heart Inquiry’ were not any less than Zhou Yun’s.
The battles between drama fans and character fans of the two actresses had already been fought in many rounds.
Su Yan’s concerns were actually unfounded worries.
As a long-established top female celebrity, she would never face a cold reception whenever she appeared.
Su Yan stepped onto the stage amidst eager anticipation.
The musical accompaniment had already begun.
Su Yan raised the microphone and waved to everyone, "Happy New Year!"
...
Director’s team.
"Director Zhang, our real-time ratings have broken 1.2, and during Zhou Yun and Song Chi’s performance, the number of online viewers also surpassed sixty million!" the assistant reported to Director Zhang excitedly.
Director Zhang’s face beamed with joy, "That should surely put us in first place now."
"The real-time ratings from Hongcheng TV Station are also close to ours, but we’ve been on top the whole time. After Zhou Yun and Song Chi appeared, the ratings climbed even higher."
Director Zhang said, "It was definitely the right call to have Zhou Yun and Song Chi come."
"Absolutely, they are the hottest celebrities right now. With ’Heart Inquiry’ rated so highly and everyone loving it, plus it being Zhou Yun and Song Chi’s first performance together since their relationship was revealed, of course it’s receiving a lot of attention."
"What about Meng Ran?"
"She has already been checked out at the hospital and there are no major issues, just a sprained foot that will need some time to rest," the assistant explained,
"Her agent, Wan Tianlang, wants to see you."
"Since it’s not a major issue, let’s talk tomorrow," Director Zhang said. "There’s no time tonight, did someone from our team go to the hospital?"
"Yes, Director Wang has already gone on behalf of our team."
"That’s good then."
Director Zhang mulled over in his heart, though Meng Ran’s onstage accident tonight was unexpected, the success of being the top in ratings and having over sixty million live stream viewers was enough to offset the adverse impact.
For a gala event, nobody wanted accidents to happen, but that’s not what mattered—as long as the gala was a success.
The trio’s singing and subsequent lucky draw segment pushed the ratings and live viewer count even higher.
Until Zhou Yun and Song Chi left the stage, Su Yan still had two solo songs to perform.
After getting off the stage, Zhou Yun’s down jacket was brought to her by a dance performer.
"This is your coat you left on stage."
"Ah, yes, thank you!" Zhou Yun quickly expressed her gratitude, "Sorry for the trouble."
"No problem."
Zhou Yun held her down jacket and let out a sigh of relief, explaining to Song Chi the small mishap before her stage appearance.
Song Chi joked, "It’s lucky Xiaoju saw it, if you had gone on stage wearing your down jacket, you would have outshined all the other performing guests today."
Zhou Yun was at a loss for words.
Zheng Xiaojue and the others came over.
"Sister Xiao Yun, we really need to hurry to catch our flight," she said.
Zhou Yun exclaimed in surprise, "Are we in such a rush?"
"Yes, we’re already running late if we head out now," Zheng Xiaojue said. "This is the last flight tonight, if we miss it, we won’t make it to the set by tomorrow morning."
Zhou Yun turned to look at Song Chi.
"Then I should get going."
Song Chi nodded, hugged Zhou Yun, and said, "Be safe on the road, send me a message when you get to the hotel."
"By that time it’ll be very late, you’ll surely be resting."
"I’m going to bed late tonight." Song Chi helped Zhou Yun zip her down jacket to the very top, "I’ll come visit the set if I find time in January."
"Mm," Zhou Yun nodded, "Goodbye."
"Give me a kiss," Song Chi said, pointing to himself.
Zhou Yun felt somewhat embarrassed, "So many people are watching."
"So what?" Song Chi retorted, "If you don’t kiss me, then I’ll kiss you."
Zhou Yun quickly planted a peck on Song Chi’s lips like a dragonfly skimming the water, and without looking back, waved her hand, "I’m off, bye!"